


Tourist Attraction

by Hekate1308



Series: The Home We've Made [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Haunted Houses, Inspired by Addams Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 08:09:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hekate1308/pseuds/Hekate1308
Summary: It’s close to Halloween and the teens are crazy about their haunted mansion at this time of the year. What could go wrong?





	Tourist Attraction

“Let’s add a refugee camp for ghosts“ Dean mutters to himself, “That seems like a reasonable idea. Just like living amongst a bunch of monsters”.

Not that he normally complains about it. He’s just a bit nervous, that’s all.

But then that’s probably normal, considering it’s close to Halloween and the teens are crazy about their haunted mansion at this time of the year.

On the other hand... Dean’s pretty sure he has forgotten what normal feels like, these days.

And so, here he is, standing on the second floor of a haunted house, making sure the windows are secure.

Someone groans next to him and he rolls his eyes. “Reginald, you know I’m not going anywhere.”

The ghost of an old man appears and looks at him forlornly before vanishing again. Not Dean’s problem. If he wants an annoyance that ca just appear randomly, he usually gives Crowley a call.

Speaking of which – a few crashes downstairs later, the demon show up. “What have you done with Reginald? He’s clearly upset.”

“He was in the way” Dean informs him, “And do you think these windows are strong enough?”

Crowley looks at the locks. “Rather sure no normal teenager could get in.”

Dean nods, then looks away.

“Alright, what is it, Squirrel? That’s not like your usual cheerful self.”

He sighs. “I had a fight with Cas, okay?” he admits.

“What? You two fighting? What next? A spontaneous thunderstorm? The earth opening up and swallowing both of you?”

“Crowley –“

“It’s about as probable as you two actually fighting, I’d say. And now instead of working it out, you are standing in an abandoned house in the middle of a dark forest with a demon.”

“You’re family, and no one can call this house abandoned.”

Not anymore, not since they’ve made a habit of rescuing ghosts and taking them here where they can haunt the place to their delight without causing any trouble.

“Yeah, well...” As always when he’s too open considering their friendship, Crowley doesn’t quite know what to say at first before he recovers. “Still, shouldn’t you be at home cuddling your hubby and talking everything through?”

“I – he – we –“ Dean sighs.

“I think you’ve now used most words for you two there are, so if you could get to the topic at hand –“

“It’s just been a few difficult weeks.”

They always knew that finding a place for monsters ion human society would be, but this month... the religious nut jobs are at it again, explaining that anyone who gives a monster just a moment of their time is damned (and man, being damned feels pretty awesome then, is all Dean can say about that), and so many people still have prejudices that it sometimes seems like nothing will ever change.

And his and Cas fight was about... nothing as well, if he’s being honest.

Crowley sighs. “Let’s deal with this elsewhere.-“

A snap of his fingers later, they’re at Crowley’s, the demon bringing him a glass of Craig without asking. “So, now tell Daddy Crowley what’s wrong.”

They stare at one another. Then, Dean slowly replies, “Let’s never do that again. Ever.”

“Fair enough. So, what’s going on? Normally you two are too lovey-dovey to even consider fighting.”

Dean’s shoulders slump. “It’s been difficult. Bela’s being harassed for “turning into a monster spokeswoman”, there have been a few incidents at the library, and even at my shop –“

“Who do I have to kill?”

“Crowley.”

“I mean it.”

“I know but that doesn’t mean you should.”

Crowley pouts and Dean wonders how other demons would describe him, these days. “I could at least make their life a living hell –“

“I said no” Dean says firmly, even though it is touching just how much Crowley cares for them. “I just need to apologize, and –“

“How about we all make sure you got an evening all to yourselves?”

Dean’s eyes widen. “You mean no supernatural disturbances whatsoever?”

“Exactly that.”

“But –“

“Squirrel, we survived before you came along, we will manage one evening.”

And so, on the next day – he and Cas haven’t really been talking, but he hardly expected him to – Dean gets home earlier than his husband for once and makes dinner.

“Dean?” Cas calls out as soon as he comes home.

“In the kitchen” he answers and when he turns around, Cas is standing in the doorway, looking at him as if he’s the best thing he’s ever seen. “Cas –“

A moment later, they’re lying in each other’s arms. “I don’t like it when we’re fighting” Cas admits.

“Same here. It sucks. Let’s not do it again.”

Cas raises his head from Dean’s shoulder and smiles. “Good idea.”

“And guess what? Crowley promised me that there’d be no interruptions tonight.”

“Really?”

“Seems like when we’re fighting, the whole neighbourhood starts freaking out.”

Cas chuckles. “Sounds like them. Monsters tend to be a bit melodramatic.”

“I hadn’t noticed” Dean says drily. He reaches out and touches Cas’ cheek. “Dinner and a movie?”

Cas nods.

As it turns out, they get pretty lucky. Dean would have considered it a feat if Crowley managed to keep his promise for two hours; in fact, they only get woken up around 4 am.

His phone rings and he sighs as he turns around, Cas a comforting warmth pressed against his back. “Looks like something happened.”

“It always does” his husband murmurs against his skin and Dean smiles. That was one hell of an evening, if he says so himself.

“Crowley” he greets the demon, “What is it?”

“Sorry, Squirrel” and he actually sounds like he means it, “But there’s a problem at the haunted mansion –“

He groans. “We’ll be there immediately.”

Too bad Sam’s on a conference. If it means what he thinks it means, they could use a lawyer about now. “Get up sunshine, we got ghosts to calm down.”

Cas grumbles but complies.

When they arrive at the mansion, Bela’s waiting for them. As always, she’s perfectly made up, and Dean wonders if she’s truly human. “What’s going on?”

“Seems like some human teenagers can’t stay away when they hear the words “dangerous” and “haunted””.

Dean sighs. “Where are they?”

“Crowley thought it prudent to keep them inside the house, to show that the ghosts we keep around are harmless.”

“Thanks. You gonna write about it?”

Bela nods. “Better it comes from us than from another source.”

“You’re right” Cas answers, “otherwise people would assume we are trying to keep it a secret.”

“Plus it’s their fault anyway” Dean decides, “This is a ghost sanctuary, no humans allowed.”

Bela looks at him. “Obviously we are the exceptions” he adds.

“You are” Cas confirms. “Now let’s deal with this.”

The way he says it makes Dean already feel sorry for any eventual kids of theirs who decide to go through puberty.

Just like Crowley said, three teenagers are huddled together on the couch, Crowley standing in the corner, his eyes red, grinning at them. Dean resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Hey, Crowley. Hi guys.”

They jump.

“Just so you know, I’m human, my husband’s a siren.”

“You married a monster?” the oldest of them, a boy about sixteen asks, eyes wide open.

“Yes , it’s not that hard. When two people love each other, you see...” he begins, then stops when he realizes the three are actually trembling. He has to play this nicely, or they’ll all be in trouble. “Look, guys, you must have known this was not a good idea.”

“We were just curious” the girl in the group pipes up. “They said there were ghosts here, and...”

“And what exactly didn’t you understand when it came to –“

“But no one said anything about demons!” the older boy declares, glaring at Crowley, who is doing a remarkable job of keeping calm, Dean would say.

“And?” he asks, but Cas lays a hand on his arm and chimes in.

“Demons are not evil per nature.”

Crowley looks like he wants to object but knows better.

“Demons are simply monsters like the rest of us, and Crowley happens to be a very dear friend. You should be happy that he intervened; ghosts can grow rather irritable when their home is disturbed.”

“Their home? But –“

“This mansion was built especially so ghosts could feel safe” Dean says pointedly. “And no one should disturb them if they just want to peacefully enjoy their afterlife”.

“We just wanted to look” the smaller boy finally mumbles, looking very guilty, and Dean wonders if he was ever this young. It seems like an eternity ago.

But he didn’t have Cas back then, and that makes the aging more than worth it. “That’s alright, just remember not to do it again. And guess what? That nice demon is going to give you a ride home – and we’re talking beaming here.”

“What!?”

“You can’t –“

“But Squirrel –“

“Crowley” he says, and the demon acquiesces.

“Fine. But the next drinks are on you.”

He nods and soon enough, the three kids are gone, and Dean and Cas are left with a house full of nervous ghosts.

“Now, now, Reginald” Dean tries to calm him down, “we’re all a little nervous right now, there’s no reason to throw another pot at me...”

He would have questioned Crowley’s wisdom in putting anything in the house that could be thrown, but then ghosts liked to make a bit of noise from time to time.

Suddenly, he realizes something. “Wait a second – you wanted to scare those kids, didn’t you? That’s why they didn’t get lost in the forest.” Otherwise, they’d still be stumbling around, the old magic playing havoc with their senses. “But why?”

The answer is pretty obvious once it comes to him. Ghosts are meant to scare people. The same way Cas is meant to draw people in, and Crowley is meant to do his bloody rituals (no pun intended). “What are we going to do with you?” he wonders just as Cas steps in.

“i calmed down Natasha” he reports; the maid who started it all seems to like it when they call her that, so it stuck. “But I think –“

“They want to scare people, yeah” Dean agrees. “But they are trapped here. Do you think they’ll get angrier as time goes on?”

Cas blinks, then nods. “It’s a distinct possibility.”

Dean rubs his face with his right hand. “What are we going to do?”

“So the ghosts are a bit annoyed because we won’t let them be ghosty” Crowley announces, appearing in front of them. “I had a fascinating talk with the kiddies, and –“

“Yeah, we’ve got that far as well. But what are we going to do about it?”

Crowley looks at them. “What do you mean? An excellent deal, of course.”

Dean can only stare at him. “You don’t mean –“

The demon grins. “As always, great minds think alike.”

* * *

 

**Halloween**

“I cannot believe you actually did this” Sam declares for the hundredth time in a row.

Dean shrugs. “The kids seem to like it.”

They definitely do based on the screams emitting from the mansion.

“When you called it a haunted house, I didn’t think it would become a tourist attraction.”

“You know we tried to keep people away in the beginning, but really, what’s the use if some want to be scared and the ghost want to do the scaring? Plus, we have Crowley to keep an eye on things – ”

Another terrified scream.

Sam winces. “Keeping an eye on things or helping the ghosts?”

“He’s having fun, that’s the most important thing. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”

So far, their haunted house has been a success. Bela has been freely advertising their new attraction in the press, and more than a few reluctant parents have already been dragged here by their children.

Maybe they’ll learn something, who knows.

At least they have hope.

Cas walks up to them. “Gilda’s and Rowena’s herbal healing potions are selling well” he reports. It was his idea to put a small shop in the house because – well, at this point, why not?

Dean kisses him. “Great news, sunshine.”

It is indeed.


End file.
